The Guardians of Eastgate

Planning or Pantsing? Which Approach to Writing Works Best?

The first time I ever heard the term “pantsing” was when I joined a writer’s group, and most of my fellow group members had decided to take part in NaNoWriMo.

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is a writing competition that takes place in November, where participants are challenged to both start and complete the first draft of a manuscript within that month.

Of course, you can prepare ahead of time by planning and outlining your story, building your characters and so on. However, the actual writing is not to start until November begins. I hadn’t planned on taking part in 2017, and I changed my mind at the last minute. Through our chat in writers’ group that evening, I discovered that made me a pantser.

You are a pantser if you start writing cold, with no preparation or outlining, no purposeful choosing of plot points or structure, or so on. You just sit with a notebook and pencil, or sit in front of your computer, and you just go for it!

I also realized that this was how I wrote my first novel. At the time, I worried that if I thought too much about the technical aspects of writing, I would feel overwhelmed and it would stifle my creativity. However, I had the storyline in my head for over twenty years before I put it down on paper, so I already had a pretty good handle on the premise, plot points, characters, and so on, even if I didn’t have my ideas on paper in any real, organized fashion.

I also went ahead and published the first edition of my first novel, The Guardians of Eastgate, with the help of an assisted self-publishing company. It was a Canadian company called Tellwell, based in Victoria, BC. As part of my agreement with them, I purchased a substantive edit, which includes both copy editing and content editing. Also, I have a degree in Language and Literature. So, I was good to go, right?

Wrong.

It was after I sent that first book out to be published and was thinking about the second book in the series that I decided to take a closer look at all the technical elements. After all, though I had written plenty in the past, this was my first novel. It started with a book called, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Browne and King. From there I read Structuring Your Novel, by K.M. Weiland, and I am still reading anything I think will help me improve my craft, in both book and blog article form. And you know what? I started thinking, I can do better.

So, when I found a graphic artist to do all the covers for the series and I decided to re-do the first cover as well to keep the series uniform, I decided that would be a perfect opportunity for me to make some improvements in the story as well. As a result, the second edition of The Guardians of Eastgate is being released on the February 19th, 2018, and I feel it’s a much better, much more solid novel because of what I learned and the improvements it led to.

So, is planning or pantsing better? Does planning stifle creativity? Of course, each author must find their own methods and a system that works for them. But here are some advantages and disadvantages of each that I have discovered along the way.

Advantages of Planning:

You will develop a greater understanding of your world and your characters before you start to write the story

You will know what your plot points and pinch points will be ahead of time

You will be able to see if the plots and subplots are adequate

You can see and fix obvious plot holes before they happen

You will have an opportunity for feedback that you can easily incorporate in the story

It will be easy to track your progress and see the road ahead as you write

You can choose the planning method that works best for you, with as much or as little detail as you like, as long as it helps you stay on track

Disadvantages of Planning:

The challenge may seem daunting at first, and some authors, new authors in particular, may feel overwhelmed and give up

It is a slower process

You may spend time developing a plan or outline that does not work in the end

Despite your best-laid plans, your characters may have different ideas and make you veer off-course

It might stifle creativity by causing writers to think too much about structure and grammar instead of letting the story flow naturally

The author may be less flexible and less open to new ideas that come up during the writing process

Advantages of Pantsing:

You can get into writing your story right away!

The writing process may be faster and smoother because you are letting it flow freely

The story flows organically, allowing more opportunity to come up with novel ideas

You will have less stress, since you are worrying less about the technical aspects of writing

You are less likely to over-think or over-complicate things

Disadvantages of Pantsing

Some authors may feel like they don’t know where to begin, or don’t know what they are doing

Obvious plot holes might be missed until later on, when they could be more complicated to fix

You may end up having to cut portions of the story because they do not work

Plot points, subplots, character development, and so on, may be inadequate if you haven’t put the thought into it ahead of time

You may end up with a weaker story line than you would have if you had planned it

Writing your story may go faster in the beginning but end up taking much more time to revise and re-write on the back end

What are your thoughts on planning and pantsing? Which works best for you?

I will pin this question to my Facebook author page. Please feel free to visit and comment. Let’s start the conversation!

Sherry Leclerc is a science fiction and fantasy fanatic who lives in magical realms where swords and sorcery, action and adventure, seers, shifters and sorcerers abound.

Click on the image below to sign up for my newsletter and recieve a free copy of my Seers Short Stories (The Guardians of Sterrenvar)

Check out my Author page on Amazon for the Second Edition of the Guardians of Eastgate: Book 1 of The Seers Series, set to release on February 19, 2018

Click on the image below to enter the GOODREADS giveway for a signed paperback version of The Guardians of Eastgate. The giveaway ends on February 22nd, so hurry and sign up while there is still time!

About The Guardians of Eastgate: Seers Book I (Second Edition)

PLEASE NOTE: Though the updated trailer says “available now,” the Second Edition will not be available until mid February. I will send out an update as soon as the new edition is available for purchase. Thanks!

An ancient evil threatens the future of the realm of Sterrenvar. A race of people called seers has appointed themselves Guardians of the Realm, guarding the safety of their world and all the people in it. Maelona Sima is one of four seer champions tasked with protecting the four keystones from evil forces that wish to destroy them, thus leaving an immeasurable magical force free to be used against the realm’s inhabitants. Yet Maelona is more than a seer. She is unique in her world, and she is the best hope of survival for the people of Sterrenvar…the very people who once hunted down and killed many of the seer people out of fear and mistrust. Protecting the keystones is the first line of defense against the evil sorcerer who wishes to enslave the realm. Can Maelona, a guardian of the keystone at Eastgate, and her friends Blaez, a wolf shifter, and Gareth, a human prince, bring together their peoples to save Eastgate from destruction in this first book of the Seers series?

UPCOMING RELEASE

The release of the Second Edition of The Guardians of Eastgate, Book 1 of The Seers Series, has been delayed due to unforseen cirsumstances, and will now be released mid-February. STAY TUNED!

Click on the image to sign up for my author newsletter, and recieve a FREE copy of my short story collection, The Guardians of Sterrenvar